Kehrä

Kehrä (myös piiri, puhekehrä, ting tai rinki) on (eko)yhteisöissä ja kestävän elämäntavan kiertokouluissa usein käytetty työskentelytapa. Perusperiaatteeltaan se toimii niin, että ihmiset istuvat ympyrämuodossa, ja ringissä kiertää yleensä myötäpäivään kapula (puhesauva), jonka kulloisellakin haltijalla on mahdollisuus puhua muiden keskeyttämättä. Tämä menettely edustaa eräänlaista demokraattisuutta ja tasavertaisuutta: kaikilla on yhtälainen mahdollisuus puhua ja tulla kuulluksi. Kehrässä on kyse enemmän kuuntelemisesta kuin puhumisesta mm. siitä syystä, että jokaisella on mahdollisuus puhua vain kerran per kierros.

Kehrälle tyypillisiä piirteitä

• Rehellisyys
• Ei päälle puhumista
• Suvaitsevaisuus
• Tasavertaisuus
• Intensiivinen kuuntelu
• Usein syventää suhteita muihin kehrässä istujiin tavanomaista kommunikointia tehokkaammin

Erilaisia kehriä

Talking circle – a circle with the Talking Stick

Talking circle is a very simple but effective way to strengthen democracy. It is also a tool that creates a deepening atmosphere where people’s inner feelings and thoughts can become expressed and combined with a joint search for understanding something essential. The basic is that the person having the stick gets a freedom to concentrate, and that the others concentrate in listening. So, no one is “allowed” to disturb, comment or question anything. Just questions in need for clarification are reasonable, not conversation. The idea is that everyone can talk until they feel they have said what they feel important, that people have a space to seek the talk that comes from their hearts.

People for whom this way is not familiar get easily frustrated in waiting for their turn. So, the talking circle is teaching listening and tolerance. You may also learn to notice that many of your ideas may become expressed from others before your turn. That is why we do not “own” our thoughts or ideas. If they are “real” or functioning, they are also “hanging in the air”, and we might see them get an expression through others, and we understand ourselves as knots in a field or web, not as independent individuals. On the other hand it is not meaningful to fill the air with just own words – do not use too long monologues. And others can also show their interest for hurrying for example rolling thumbs around each other, which the talking one easily can understand.

On the other hand many who are not so experienced in expressing themselves, are also afraid when they feel they have to find out something to say. But that is not the meaning. To talk is just voluntary. You do not have to say anything, if you do not feel so. But anyway you are allowed to get an opportunity in the same way as all the others do. So, the talking circle creates good circumstances for people to learn to open themselves – and to talk what they feel important.

A silent and respecting atmosphere creates a deepening communication. It is not meaningful to stress on preparing your own turn – just letting the stick function as a kind of antenna you may learn to find the right words for the circle.

It is also preferable to begin with telling first your name, and closing by mentioning like “I have talked”, “thank you for listening” or “ugh” or something. Then you just give the stick further to the next in the circle or to someone else depending on how you have decided to use the stick. It can also be beautiful to mention the name of the next speaker if you know it. It is not used to clap hands. If you are impressed about someone’s talk you can wave your hands in the air or just pronounce “hou” or “wow” or something similar.

• If there is not a big group (let say about 3–20) people you can use the talking stick to move in row;
• In a bigger group (10-50) or when you wish to hurry up and maybe conclude something – the one having the stick gives it further to someone else who asks for it with raising hand;
• With very many people you just divide the meeting into small groups which then use the stick as mentioned above;
  • In a concluding situation you can then gather one representative from each group to the centre of the crowd into a smaller circle, and others then just follow the talk from outside. If someone want to come in, they might do it after the first circle, but the amount of people in the middle must remain reasonable;
• Usually a facilitator (or a group of them) is needed to speak for the process and to keep people clear about the talking way that is chosen in the given situation;
• The talking stick can be combined to other types of communicative ways – it is just a tool that can be used creatively depending on the given situation;
• You can also try another way: the one that has talked goes and lay the talking stick on earth in the middle of the circle. The next one, who ever in the circle, then just goes in the middle and takes the stick. This is impressive when the level of the process is dealing with really deep and important feelings.

Choosing working group themes in a deep democratic way

It is also used talking stick combining it with so called “future workshop” tool. If for example you have to define good themes for working groups (or openly add new themes in a prepared schelude) you may first have one or two talking circles, and according to what people raise up write the key words on paper on the wall. After circles you can ask people to add some new if they want. Then you can combine them into some themes – and have the working groups according to these themes.

If there are very many keynotes you can ask people to vote them each person having 3–5 votes which they can distribute freely (not just to five different points, also like 2+3, or 1+1+3 or other combinations are ok). Then you sort and combine the keynotes examining them in the order of their votes. You can concentrate just to the most important ones according to peoples feelings (the votes give an interesting expression of groups interests). You take one at time and list similar types together – and give these lists own titles. In a future workshop it is important that these keynotes express also the feelings or attitudes (administrative way of language is to be avoided), ant the give titles even so express feelings…

Buddhalainen jakaminen

Puheenvuoro saadaan hiljaisuudelta liittämällä kämmenet yhteen, jolloin muut vastaavat samalla tavalla. Puheenvuoro annetaan hiljaisuudelle samalla tavalla ja muut vastaavat. Etuna on se, että silloin kun kenelläkään ei ole mitään sanottavaa on hiljaisuus, kenellekkään ei tule pakkoa sanoa jotain ja että intuitionsa saa ilmaista nopeammin. Haittana on se, että äänekkäämmät saattavat viedä hiljaisemmilta ne hetket, jolloin olisi sanottavaa. Toinen on myös, että tämä muoto ei anna hetkeä, jolloin olisi mahdollisuus sanoa jotain, kuten silloin kun kapula on kullakin kädessä.